MAKING the change to beef production from dairy was a huge learning curve for Martin and Lorraine Anning who farm 365 hectares of cattle country north of Walpole.
After 50 years of dairy farming, the Anning family made the decision to move to beef in 2004.
"It was a huge decision but in the end we saw a future in beef," Martin said.
Beef will continue to play a central role in the Anning family operation as Martin and Lorraine look to increase their land holdings in case their son decides to come home to the farm.
"After the move from dairy we started off with Murray Greys predominantly but we did still have a lot of dairy cross from the old herd," Martin said.
"We got out of the dairy cross a few years ago because of issues with mastitis and the level of maintenance required to keep them going."
The Annings have since been moving towards an Angus-focused operation for a number of years now, despite their fondness for the Murray Greys still roaming their pastures.
"Currently, we have 370 breeders (the majority Angus and Murray Grey) with 54 heifers coming on soon," Martin said.
"But we are gradually swinging towards the Angus breed."
Lorraine said they'd found that the Angus studs they have been getting their bulls from - predominantly Diamond Tree, Hay River and more recently Mordallup - are breeding the sorts of animals they've been chasing.
"Those bulls have that beautiful long, deep body we want, with a small head which means easy calving," Lorraine said.
"We've found our calving dramas have dropped off since we've changed our focus towards the Angus breed.
"In our Murray Grey herd we have some really quality genetics from Tullibardine and Southend studs but we don't really like the new direction we see a lot of Murray Grey studs taking.
"I think there's a bit of pressure to produce bigger framed animals because of the popularity of the Angus breed.
"But we liked the old fashioned Murray Greys and we're finding it increasingly difficult to find those soft, long bulls with that ideal depth of body.
"So we're looking at moving towards phasing out our Greys and moving to a complete Angus operation in the future."
Upsizing their Angus herd has meant sourcing replacement heifers each year, with many coming from Ponderosa Angus stud.
Martin said the 20 heifers purchased last year have filled their requirements, with the Annings planning to self-replace from now on.
The bulls go in with the breeding herds at a ratio of 2:50 in the beginning of May for about 10-11 weeks.
"We do rotate our bulls, but we try to use them in teams when we can, pairing up a young and old bull," Martin said.
"The idea is that the older bull is dominant and keeps the young one in line, but the younger bull keeps the old boy honest.
"It does mean we carry a few extra bulls but we find the process has been useful."
They also keep a couple of spare bulls as back ups.
"We'd keep an older bull a year longer as a backup in case we need him and only send him off once mating is finished," Lorraine said.
And the Annings aren't afraid of throwing in a tad of blood from a different breed to achieve desirable traits in their breeding mob.
"We don't cross breed generally - we put the blacks over the blacks and the greys over the greys, but we have recently been trying out a Willandra Simmental bull over one of the Angus breeding mobs," Martin said.
"He throws beautiful, well conditioned heifers with excellent temperaments so the pay off from that experiment has been excellent."
Well conditioned animals are easy to find at the Anning family's farm on the back of a very wet (perhaps too wet) winter, with pastures shooting skywards at the the first sign of the summer sun.
"Last year we fed out most of our hay during winter because it was so wet, but it looks like we'll have it coming out of our ears now we have finished cutting the hay and silage," Martin said.
"We've also renovated the odd paddock here and there and aim to give our pastures a bit more time in the future but it's tough with just the two of us running things."
When it comes to calving time, the Annings keep a close eye on the calvers by moving them to paddocks within sight of the house.
"We only preg test the heifers," Martin said.
"But in March, once the biggest portion of the cows have calved we get the remainder preg tested and if there are any problems, we'll send them off - we don't want the drama.
"Even if the cow is pregnant but way behind the rest of the mob, we'll move her along because we're trying to tighten up our calving period.
"And with the heifers, sometimes we'll give them a second chance - mostly because I'm a softy - but also because we were trying to build our numbers.
"Now we've got plenty, we can afford to be a bit more critical."
But there definitely is room for a smidge of leniency with good cows that have lost a calf.
"We get spare calves from dairies for the mother to adopt which works 99 per cent of the time," Lorraine said.
"We don't see the point in losing a perfectly good breeder if she happens to have one bad experience calving."
Nearly a third of the calves go directly to abattoirs, with some going to Goodchilds and Dardanup Butchering Company, some to local lotfeeders and lighter drafts are sold in the saleyard.
"The lighter calves that come off the heifers go straight to the yards to give the heifers a bit of an extra break before round two," Lorraine said.
"But the rest go to wherever will fetch the best price.
"And the prices right now are excellent.
"We don't expect prices to stay so good for long so we're enjoying it while it lasts.
"And it is a nice change to be actually paid good money for the hard work we farmers do."
